Five reasons for Manchester City failings this season

Manchester City were joint top of the league in January, in the Champions League knockout phases and yet to face be humiliated by Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, but it's all gone wrong since then.

Here we take a look at a few of the the reasons for the club's failings.

1. Age of squad

There's been no major changes in the City roster in years, with eight of the side's starting XI against United having been there for their first Premier League title win in 2012. Due to the linear nature of time, none of the side have got any younger, with the likes of Yaya Toure, at 31, looking a lot older in the hectic Premier League and Vincent Kompany, who celebrated his 29th birthday last week, now giving off the impression of a man worn down by years playing at the top. The squad has an average age over 28 and pushing 29. The younger players who have arrived to supplement the experience have not performed well - £40million defender Eliaquim Mangala looks, at best, sub-par and, at worst, incompetent. Wilfried Bony has not been able to find form or fitness since arriving at the Etihad following the Africa Cup of Nations. Either way, it would seem logical that some of the older players will now be dismissed in the summer.

2. Tactics

For a long period Manuel Pellegrini needlessly stuck with a 4-4-2 formation for games against Barcelona and Liverpool, among others, which was nowhere near up to standard. Edin Dzeko's involvement in the team saw them look slow in attack and repeatedly overrun in midfield. The Bosnian was not suited to style, as he was heavily reliant on Jesus Navas providing some decent crosses for him to take advantage of, but one never arrived in the box. David Silva has been utlilised wide on the left, limiting his impact in the crucial areas of the pitch, forcing him to have no influence. In the centre of the park, Fernandinho, Fernando and Yaya Toure have all underwhelmed and struggled to cope with the most meagre of opponents.

3. Recruitment

In the summer City went out to strengthen key areas on the pitch, but each one of their signings have failed to produce the goods. Defender Eliaquim Mangala has spent the majority of the season on the bench, failing to oust the ageing Martin Demichelis. The France international has looked naive throughout the campaign, unable to cope with the intelligence of opponents in the final third. Since arriving for a fee of £40million in the summer, Mangala has made 26 appearances, but has never looked comfortable in a City shirt. Another recruit from Porto, Fernando, disappointed the Etihad faithful, too. The Brazilian has not adapted well either; the ex-Porto midfielder is weak in the challenge and reads the poorly, leaving him surplus to requirements. Frank Lampard, Bacary Sagna and Willy Caballero were also brought in, but have only achieved the accolade of bit-part players.

4. Manuel Pellegrini

The Chilean has never been the most charismatic of managers, but he has become slightly more dour in recent times, as the results have got worse and rumours of replacements have been aired, Pellegrini has sunken back into his own world, rarely coming out fighting and now looks weary and beaten, with many expecting him to be sacked in the summer. It is thought City are biding their time, as they wait for Pep Guardiola's Bayern contract to expire in 2016, but it's increasingly likely they will act sooner rather than later now. Pellegrini has also been unable to change things during matches to turn things in City's favour, as his imagination struggles. Rafa Benitez anyone?

5. Fan disconnection

In the modern era of football, players are obviously far more distant from the supporters, but City's star are getting further and further away from loyal fans. Applauding the away fans has become a thing of the past for the likes of Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri, who give off the impression of having little interest in those who pay to watch them play. Season ticket prices have risen heavily, for the majority, despite the club going backwards over the last 12 months. Even the players on Twitter have reduced their output to a relative trickle, especially around games. Most of them are just chucking out generic platitudes that the club seem to have forced upon them or boosting their own brands, rather than anything of interest.